The Science of Marketing

On Monday, my wife and I found ourselves in New York at the XM Radio studios - sitting in on a live broadcast of The Opie and Anthony Show.  As I peered into the studio and listened to the hosts assuming their contrarian stances on the events of the day, it got me thinking about controversy and its role in B2B marketing.  Now, I know that morning radio personalities are a lot different than software companies, but I still wonder if there’s anything to be learned from the art of using shock value to attract and build a loyal following.

A few years ago, I was at a high tech startup that launched "The Carcass Campaign," a series of advertisements that used images of predators and their fallen prey to emphasize the importance of speed in the animal kingdom (and in telecommunications).  Despite the occasional letter from PETA, the reaction was overwhelmingly positive, with most onlookers saying "I get it."  But The Carcass Campaign is the only example I can think of that taps controversy to break through the humdrum clutter and reach the corporate world, and I wonder if today’s overloaded business audiences demand a little more edge from the companies trying to strike up a conversation with them.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that the CEOs of B2B companies begin pulling a Mark Cuban, or that four-letter words start showing up in press releases, but as I flip through the pages of Network World and check out the ads, I’m bored stiff.  Big headline…picture of a person’s face…picture of some hardware…company logo….repeat.  Can’t we do a little better than this, or is the high road good enough?

Please someone…anyone…point me to a good example of a business to business company that isn’t afraid to be edgy.  Or is there just no room for controversy in B2B marketing?

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